On 24th January the Blue Invest workshop on green nautical technologies, jointly organised by EBI, the European Commission and PwC was held online. The workshop should have been held at the Blue Innovation Dock during boot Düsseldorf 2022, which was cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic situation. This did not prevent the workshop to successfully bring together entrepreneurs, corporates, private investors, and stakeholders to discuss developments in green nautical technologies and provide insights into investment opportunities.
The virtual event was moderated by Catherine Frideres, Senior Project Manager of Blue Invest. Giving a keynote on sector and its potential was Philip Easthill, Secretary General of European Boating Industry. He highlighted the significance of the recreational boating industry as a large ecosystem of manufacturers, service providers and infrastructure operators, encompassing many companies active in a variety of subsectors.
At the EU level, several policy drivers are moving the industry towards sustainability, such as the Sustainable Blue Economy Strategy and the review of the Recreational Craft Directive. At the industry level, there is an awareness of the need to maintain a clean and healthy marine environment, as well as the recognition of the need to address the challenges coming from climate change. This is backed by consumers that are demanding products with high level of digitalisation and sustainability. Recent trends in the industry include an acceleration of the shift towards boating and water sports in the leisure and tourism space with marked interest coming from new demographics, entry-level options and a demand for shared ownership and chartering. However, the industry is currently facing challenges with supply chain bottlenecks and high-priced raw materials.
He also mentioned the many challenges that boating industry is facing in its transition to sustainability, in particular the lack of a one-size-fits-all solution for zero-emission propulsion. Different solutions are required according to the boat size, range, and usage. The large boat park with long lifetime needs to also be addressed to decarbonise the entire sector. Looking at the 2030 targets, the industry can move forward with the electrification of small boats with shorter range requirement, hybrid engine solutions and biodiesel to be used in existing engines, the replacement of old-technology engines, and the improvement of fuel consumption and hydrodynamic resistance of the hull and use of hydrofoils. As long-term solutions to achieve the 2050 goals a number of other technologies will be crucial, such as the use of synthetic and bio-based fuels, hydrogen, the continued improvement of fuel consumption improvements and hydrodynamic resistance and innovation in terms of new technologies and fuels. He presented some case studies of European boating companies and marinas developing innovative sustainable solutions “Made in Europe”.
He concluded his presentation by referring to the significant opportunities for innovation and investment in the boating sector over the coming years driven by growth forecasts. Green and digital solutions are encouragingly increasing but innovation and investment are crucial for all areas of the green transition and to avoid bottlenecks. From a policy perspective this requires strong support and investment, private and public, to ensure competitiveness and success of the European-based recreational boating industry.
In the panel discussion on green nautical technologies, Anne-Marie Bouweraerts (Vice President, EBI) discussed green investment opportunities together with Laurent Probst, (Partner and Economic Development & Innovation Leader, PwC), Frank Schweikert (Founder and Director, German Ocean Foundation), Gabriella Richardson (Founder, Yachting Ventures), and Claus Schultze (Policy Officer, DG MARE). Ms Bouweraerts focused on the significant opportunities for innovation and investment in the recreational boating industry over the coming years. To continue in this positive direction, it is important that the strength of “Made in Europe” is sustained through the support of governments at all levels, especially given the high reliance of the sector on SMEs. She pointed out the role of EBI, and its new stratagy, as a major player in these discussions and in promoting the recreational boating sector.
Laurent Probst pointed out that while the high level of innovation in the boating sector is undeniable and is set to continue in the long term, it is important that decision-makers, both at the corporate and institutional level, are aware of the bottlenecks the sector might face in the future. Firstly, the market size of the boating sector will have to enlarge to bring an increasing number of companies to invest in sustainability. The second bottleneck regards the effort that companies will have to put in developing circular economy solutions to ensure that a sustainable approach is extended to the entire value chain. The third bottleneck concerns the fact that the majority of companies in the industry are SMEs that tend to encounter more difficulties in investing adequately into digitalisation and sustainability. Gabriella Richardson highlighted the importance of private investment and the role that Yachting Ventures plays in providing coaching and mentoring opportunities for start-ups in the yachting and boating industry. While the organisation does not solely focus on green solutions, this segment has substantially increased.
Frank Schweikert discussed the role of water sports in enhancing the protection of the seas where there is significant potential. The German Ocean Foundation sees itself at the intersection of science, society, and industry. Many initiatives are ongoing, such as the ‘love your ocean’ initiative with boot Düsseldorf, the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science, and the Ocean Festival in Berlin. He also presented the vision of the German Ocean Foundation for the development of a sustainable water sports sector: speed reduction and maximisation of the experience, digitisation, expansion of the shared economy, broad and immediate use of regenerative energies, use of sustainable materials in old products and new products, celebration of sustainability successes with the water sports community.
The session was followed by a pitch session featuring five European SMEs and start-ups in the industry that showcased their innovative solutions to an audience of potential investors. Two of the start-ups pitching received concrete approaches for potential investment by the private investors participating.
More information about the workshop can be found here and about the EU’s BlueInvest programme here.